


Celestial Corruption

by hedgefrog1618



Category: One Direction (Band), Supernatural (sort of)
Genre: Angel!Liam, Angel/Demon AU, Angst, Demon!Louis, Demon!Zayn, Fluff, I don't hate Nick Grimshaw, M/M, Minor Nick Grimshaw/Harry Styles, My First Fanfic, Past Character Death, WIP, angel!Harry, demon!Niall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:53:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgefrog1618/pseuds/hedgefrog1618
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis does a terrible thing, which leads to another terrible thing which leads on to a few more terrible things. Basically, Louis considers himself a bad luck charm. But he ends up being fine with it because luck doesn't affect pretty looking angels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction and it will probably be shitty. There is a few Supernatural mentions, you don't really have to watch the show to read this fic, everything is explained.  
> I'm not very good at summaries or writing to people instead of for people so thank you for reading, you can carry on now.
> 
> -Paige

 

Louis’ life, as of yesterday, was in undeniable turmoil. So Louis dealt with that in the only way he knew how: alcohol. Probably too much alcohol. So, a bottle of vodka and 10 shots later, Louis made the educated decision to drive home at 4 am. With tear filled eyes and a stolen bottle of half-drank Jack Daniels in his left hand, Louis sped down the empty road. Another car suddenly turned around the corner. Louis, being exorbitantly drunk, just assumed that the dumb shit would get out of his way. So Louis didn’t slow down at all. Louis only realised his mistake as the two cars crashed head on. His life flashed before his eyes in the most cliché way and then everything went black.

 

-

 

Waking up in a different place from what you’re used to is always disorientating. Especially when there is an inhumanely beautiful man staring down at you with bored and vaguely intrigued eyes. Especially when you thought you had died less than a day ago. Is he alive? Is he is heaven? It sure felt like it with the gorgeous tan skinned angel standing above him. Who was speaking to him.

“You awake mate?” The angel asks. Louis, not able to find his words at that current moment, nods weakly.

“Zayn.” He introduces himself, holding out a hand to Louis who couldn't distinguish whether Zayn was offering to help him up or shake his hand. Louis decides that he would rather get off of the floor than be mannerly and it seemsthat is Zayn’s intention for him too.

“Louis” Louis looks around and sees that he is in what looks like an alleyway. An eerie darkness had been washed over the town. Not regular night time darkness, but an unnatural sort.

“Where am I?” Louis asks Zayn who looked eager to leave, his eyes darting around nervously.

“Hell.” Zayn says curtly and grabs Louis’ wrist and drags him to the door of a nearby building. The word only just registered with Louis. _Is Zayn being sarcastic or is he being serious?_

“Actual hell?” Louis asks. Zayn doesn't reply, only knocks on the door three times and then whistles. The door opens with a loud crack and the two are ushered inside the grubby house. It’s buzzing with noise, various voices and a particularly loud laugh. The guy that let them in closes the door and turns around to face Louis and Zayn. Zayn takes off his fingerless gloves and holds up his hand to the man, who nods.

“It’s on his arm. He’s a newbie.” Zayn explains and the man nods once again, which confuses Louis even more.

“I’m Paul.” He says and lifts Louis’ arm to pull back the sleeve and squint at something. He nods again and drops Louis’ arm. He then murmurs something to Zayn and walks away.

“What the fuck is going on?” Louis demands but Zayn ignores him again. He motions for Louis to follow him and then disappears upstairs. Louis groans and inspects his arm. Nestled in amongst his old tattoos is a new one. ‘Bus 1’. _What?_ Louis needs answers, so he goes after Zayn, looking into each room on the second floor, searching for the buzz cut and the brooding personality. Admittedly, it was a difficult thing to do in the dim lighting. Eventually, in the last room on that floor, he finds Zayn sitting on the floor instead of on the provided chairs.

“Sit,” Zayn says. “I think I have some explaining to do.” Louis scoffs.

“You think?” Zayn smiles lightly and rubs at a yin yang tattoo on his wrist, just below the ‘Bus 1’.

“What do you want to know?” Zayn asks and stretches out his legs.

“Where are we?”

“Hell.” Zayn says it just like he did in the alley, as if he had explained it many times before.

“Are you sure?”

“Positively. I know it’s hard to grasp but you get used to it eventually.” Louis’ main concern is why he is here. He hadn’t killed anyone or committed any other crime that was worth being thrown to hell for. He asks Zayn as much.

“How’d you die? Drug OD? Alcohol? Suicide? Anything like that, God sends you to hell because he is the one in charge of taking away life and all that shit.” Zayn says, rolling his eyes. A knock sounds on the door and simultaneously, a bomb goes off outside. Louis jumps. A blonde boy enters the room looking rather flustered and hands a gun to Zayn.

“We haven’t got a lot of time.” He says and Zayn shakes his head.

“Has Ruby showed up yet?” Zayn asks apprehensively, loading his gun and putting it into a holster that was attached to his belt. Louis didn’t hear the boys’ response over the second explosion but the grimace on Zayn’s face told him enough. Louis didn't know who Ruby was or why Zayn was so panicked or why they don’t have much time, but he knew one thing for certain: he wants to get out of this place.

“Stay here, ‘kay?” Zayn commands rather than asks. Louis nods but he was already making a plan of action to leave. Zayn seems nice but Louis needed to find a peaceful part of hell to live out the rest of his eternal life. Hey, at least he wasn't burning in a fiery pit. That’s a plus.

 

-

 

For the next few hours, explosions, gunshots and screaming become a regular thing. People being rushed inside to what Louis’ guesses is the infirmary is also a regular thing. When Zayn finally returns, he is almost completely covered in blood. Whether it’s his own or someone else’s, is beyond Louis.

“What happened?” Louis asks but he doesn’t get an answer, as per usual. Zayn simply strips down to his pants and slides into the bed. Louis shuffles over to the edge of Zayn’s bed and sits down.

“I still have more questions.” Louis says quietly. Zayn sniffs and rolls over to face Louis. He’s clutching something in his hand. Something that looks like a picture.

“Ask away.” Zayn says huskily. Louis doesn’t know why he was crying but he lets it go because prying probably isn’t a good thing to do right now.

“Who’s Ruby and why was there fighting?” Louis starts, leaning against the bed post.

“She is one of the Originals. The demons that were created on purpose. Most of them died a few years ago in a huge war with the angels but there is still a fair few alive. She recruits new ‘baby demons’, which is what we are. Baby demons are people who appear in hell after they die before their time, whether they committed an unforgiveable crime or whether it was a self-induced death. She is trying to get rid of all of us baby demons that aren’t on her side.”

 

-

 

By the time Zayn had explained everything Louis needed to know about hell, Louis had ended up next to Zayn in the bed. He was now telling Louis about his family.

“I have one older sister, Doniya and two younger, Waliyha and Safaa. I imagine they mourned my death. I really hope they are able to carry on with a normal life or else I might not be able to live with the guilt of leaving them.” Zayn tells him, looking fondly at the picture of him with his family. The picture is grainy and well worn and looks like it might rip soon but Zayn still treasures it. “I visit them sometimes,” Zayn says suddenly. “I make sure they can’t see me though. I don’t want to make empty promises to them that I’ll stay forever. Baby demons can’t stay on earth for too long. We’ll get thrown into the cage with Lucifer and Michael. That’s another long story. Basically, anyone who’s thrown down there doesn’t get out.” There’s another knock on the door just as Zayn says this. A tall guy with an equally tall quiff enters the room.

“Informing the newbie are we?” He asks in an obnoxious voice. “I’m Nick. Source of all gossip.” Zayn hums in agreement and motions for Nick to join them on the bed. He plops himself down in an obnoxious way too. Everything about this guy is obnoxious, Louis thinks.  
“Take your shoes off you heathen, don’t get dirt on the bed!” Louis scolds just as Nick was about to swing his boot clad feet on to the bed. Nick just chuckles and toes off his boots before putting them up, in between Louis and Zayn.

“Did you hear the news?” Nicks leans in as if he’s telling a secret but his loud voice contradicts it. “Yours truly is getting very friendly with an angel.” Nick raises his eyebrows suggestively and smirks smugly. Zayn raises his eyebrows as high as they go and scoffs.

“You’re making a mistake Grimmy. All angels are pompous, selfish bastards.” Zayn says begrudgingly. _What’s his problem with angels? Aren’t they supposed to be God’s little helpers who can do no wrong?_

“Just because you had a bad experience with one doesn’t mean they’re all bad. What was the guys name again? Li-” _Lee? Leeroy?_

“Shut your mouth Grimshaw, I’ve been here longer than you have.” Zayn cuts him off. Nick laughs in what seems like an effort to cut through the tension.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Zaynie, ‘m only teasing you.” Zayn flinches at the nickname and starts fiddling with the pillowcase.

“So Louis, what tatt did Zayn here give you?” Nick breaks through the silence with the sort of question an interviewer would ask. Louis had almost forgotten about the tattoo. He rolled up his sleeve and Nick snatched his arm, yanking him forward to look at it.

“He made you a fighter recruiter.” Nick says with a hint of disdain in his voice. He released Louis’ arm and pulled his sock down to reveal a ‘Bus’ tattoo. “I’m just a fighter. They didn’t think I was cut out for recruiting.” Nick grumbles sulkily.

“At least they made you anything. You put up such a fight on the way here, I’m surprised they didn’t just hand you over to the Originals for testing.” Zayn comments and Louis suddenly notices that Zayn had been doodling on the wall with a permanent marker. A pair of wings next to a pair of devil horns and what looked like a heart between them, except the heart had been scribbled out. It sparked Louis’ curiosity, especially after Nick’s mention of an angel that Zayn had gotten ‘friendly’ with.

“So does no one want to know about my angel friend?” Nick asks rhetorically. _He sounds like a whiny child,_ Louis thinks.

“Your definition of friend differs drastically from mine. At least I had the audacity to let everyone know that me and Liam were definitely not ‘just friends.’” Zayn absently traces his fingers over the angel wings on the wall just as Nick scoffs.

“Nah, we’re just friends. For now.” Nick winks at Louis exaggeratedly and his mouth twists into a smug smile.

“Yep, you’ll definitely woo an angel, who is taught to do no wrong, to join you in the dark side.” Zayn itches at his arm and then folds them with a scornful look on his face. At least Louis wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Nick.

“You did it so I figured it couldn’t be too difficult.” Nick retorts and then stands up, picking up his boots too. "I should probably get to bed lads. It was nice to meet you Louis." Louis nods at Nick in acknowledgment and Zayn sighs a noticeably fake sigh and then gives Nick a sad look.  
“Do you really have to go?” Nicks smiles patronisingly at Zayn and taps his chin.

“You were always a shit actor, Malik. Goodnight boys.” He exits the room, slamming the door behind him. Louis looks over at Zayn with a smirk and with the intention to interrogate him about ‘Liam’. Zayn looks at him and frowns, then slides down so that his head is below the pillow and his feet hanging over the bottom of the bed and pulls the duvet over his face.

“I know what you’re going to ask, Louis, so go ahead.” His muffled voice comes from under the duvet.

“So who’s Liam?” Louis asks mischievously and pulls the duvet from Zayn’s face. His hair has gone fluffy and a little static from being under the covers.

“An angel.” He murmurs, his cheeks already turning a light shade of pink. 

"Yeah I figured that out. Were you guys a “thing?”” Louis put air quotes around thing, because he had a feeling Zayn would be sarcastic if he didn’t.

“Yeah we were. It was always just a thing. We always met up in this tiny little town somewhere in England. Only for an hour because that’s the time limit on baby demons. And baby angels. But one day, the day I really thought we were going to make it official because he had hinted at it non-stop the previous times we met up, he didn’t show. I waited the full hour, I was a few seconds off getting thrown into the cage. I went to the same place for weeks, waited the full hour and risked my ass each time, just in case he showed, but he never did. What I’m saying is, Louis, angels aren’t as sweet as everyone thinks.”

 

-


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few weeks later, Louis had been sufficiently trained to fight. It was a daunting task, with a large possibility of getting badly injured or sent to Limbo. Zayn was becoming more distant, and Louis wasn’t sure why. It was coming up to September and as it got closer, the further away Zayn got. Louis got so desperate, he went to Nick to ask what was wrong with Zayn.

“August 29th is Liam’s birthday. Something happened between them on that day but he won’t tell me or anyone what it was. You should ask him, he seems to like you more than me.” Nick smiled a genuine smile, the first one Louis had seen on him. 

“Thanks Nick.” Louis says and starts to walk away but is stopped by Nick grabbing his wrist.

“Look after him Louis. At this time of year he turns into a zombie except a crying zombie. He won’t ever talk to anyone and I want you to change that.” Nick lets go of Louis’ wrist and shoos him away with a smile. Louis is a little surprised. He didn’t expect Nick to care about Zayn so much and he definitely didn’t expect to have a tolerable encounter with him. Louis had learned a lot in his few weeks as a demon. Basically, look out for your allies and kill anyone who doesn’t have any form of ‘Bus’ tattoo. Also, angels aren’t to be trusted. Except the Original angels. If you ever get to meet them, that is. Louis makes a left turn at the end of the corridor and finds Paul fiddling with something on the wall of Louis’ room. Louis finally got his own room after sharing with Zayn for a week. Apparently his new room used to be a torture room, which is very comforting. 

“What are you doing Paul?” Louis asks in a joking manner. Paul has become like a dad or a fun uncle to Louis. He’s someone that Louis knows he can rely on perpetually.

“I’m trying to sort something out for Zayn.” Paul replies and as Louis walks further into the room, he sees that Paul is fiddling with what looks like a control panel.

“What’s he trying to do?” After what Nick told him, he is almost constantly worried about Zayn and often feels that Zayn will disappear and make some terrible decisions. 

“He’s trying to go to heaven, temporarily,” Paul sighs. “Though, it’s almost impossible and I have to pull every string I have to even have a chance of getting him there.”

“Why are you doing it then, you could be risking a lot, Paul.” Louis warns, and although he loves Zayn like a brother, he doesn’t want him to make a stupid plan and then disappointing himself when it doesn’t work out.

“If it helps him to cheer up then I have no problem risking my ass for it.” Paul says with determination. Louis is about to ask what the thing Paul is fiddling with is, but then someone appears in the room. It’s been a few weeks, but it always makes Louis jump when someone just appears out of the blue. The man standing in front of them is wearing a suit, has sparse hair and a slight beard.

“Crowley.” Paul greets him warmly and Crowley, who Louis has only heard of, smiles a little before walking towards Louis and squinting.

“How did this little pixie make it to hell?” He asks, and Louis scoffs. Crowley may be the king of hell but Louis will not take that sort of insult.

“Pixies wouldn’t be as sarcastic as this little imp.” Paul tells Crowley and sets a hand on Louis’ shoulder. Crowley still squints at Louis disapprovingly.

“Anyway, why did you call me here, I have more pressing matters to attend to than your little circus.” Crowley really has a knack for saying everything in the most patronising way possible. 

“I think Ruby has blocked our communication links to heaven and I need to talk to some of the angels.” Paul informs him. Louis doesn’t know if Paul is lying or not because he doesn’t know what Zayn asked of him in the first place.

“Why would you need to talk to angels Paul?” Crowley tilts his head slightly and plasters a fake confused look on his face. “Is it because of that boy with his relationship issues because if it is, you can think again about getting my help. I really have better things to do than sort out a whiny adolescents love life.” He folds his arms and fixes Paul with a look of contempt. From Louis’ angle, he could see Paul gulp guiltily. Louis hopes that Crowley couldn’t see it. 

“No Crowley, I think it might help with the revolution to be allies with the angels.” Paul is almost visibly nervous. He is hoping that Crowley won’t notice.

“Don’t be ridiculous Paul, the angels don’t care about our shenanigans in hell, as long as we don’t take it to earth or to heaven. It was really a rather foolish idea to take it to the angels, I’m not sure why you even came up with it. Maybe it’s because it was a fake plan and you’re trying to help your pathetic little lover boy. Goodbye Paul, and please don’t bother me again unless it is genuinely important.” And he disappeared as soon as he came. Paul sighed dejectedly and closed over the panel on the wall. As he starts to walk out of the room, Louis calls after him,

“Paul, what was that about?”

“Zayn wanted to go to heaven to sort things out with Liam and possibly find an Original who could help him to be reincarnated so that he could be with his family.” Paul says in one breath.

“That’s a little selfish, don’t you think? I mean, we all don’t want to be here but he can’t just reverse everything to be with his family.” Louis rants.

“His dad just left his mum and sisters, they need someone to look after them Louis. Try and see it from his point of view.” Paul argues and puts a hand on Louis’ shoulder which he promptly shrugs off.

“Getting reincarnated won’t help that; he’ll start off as a baby with no memories of his past life. That is if he is even reincarnated to human form.” Louis is getting rather irate with the situation.

“He said he can get some favours and be put into his old body. His family really needs-”

“He’s going to bend fate because his family aren’t doing too well right now?” Louis questions and looks at Paul, waiting for the expected answer.

“Well, yes, but he’s really worried-”

“He should thank the stars that he still has a family to worry about!” Louis shrieks angrily and stalks out of the room. He regrets saying that. He knew Paul was chasing after him but he really wasn’t in the mood for a heart-to-heart. Louis hasn’t told anyone how he died, not even Zayn. Thankfully, no one has pressed him to reveal anything. He uses his newest skill of teleporting and a few seconds later, he is standing outside the skeleton of a building. It’s night time and rain is pouring out of the sky relentlessly. How suiting. The bungalows on either side of the remains had gotten rid of any traces the fire had left on their houses and the charred remains of the house had been cleared up. Everyone had moved on from the tragic event that had taken place here. Everyone except Louis. 

It was mid-July. His parents were having a special dinner/barbeque celebrating Louis and Stan’s graduation from university. Stan, Louis’ best friend, and his parents were there to celebrate with them. At one point during the evening, he and Stan were doing a quick run to the shop to get some beers for themselves and their parents. When they came back, the house was on fire and no one had managed to get out. Louis had run into the burning building, trying to find someone, anyone who was trapped or lost. Not even a minute later, Louis was nearly unconscious and being carried outside by a fireman. Stan was standing outside in tears and ran towards him. The last thing he remembers on that night was Stan telling him that it was all Louis’ fault. After he was signed out of the hospital was when he got blackout drunk because of pure misery and the feeling of eternal loneliness and crashed his car. He often wondered if Stan had meant what he said that night or if it was only tearful rage that provoked him to blame Louis. In all honesty, Louis blamed himself too. Maybe if he hadn’t taken so long arguing with Stan that they shouldn’t buy the cheap alcohol and just bought it anyway, they could’ve gotten back in time to save someone or preferably, everyone.

Louis stands and reminisces (and cries, but Louis won’t admit that if anyone asks) for a little while but then, heeding Zayn’s advice, he zaps back to hell. He arrives to two worried faces, Paul and Zayn. 

“Where the fuck were you?” Paul demands. Zayn pulls Louis into a hug and buries his face into Louis’ neck, something that is habitual when Zayn hugs Louis. 

“I went back to earth.” He tells them. Zayn releases him and smiles.

“Did you visit anyone?” Zayn asks quietly. Louis shakes his head.

“Got no one to visit.” Louis struggles to say. Zayn pouts and reaches forward to squeeze Louis’ arm in a comforting manner. Paul is still frowning.

“You still worried us Louis. You’re only new, that could’ve gone so badly.” Paul warns him, but hugs him despite it. Louis almost cries because Paul hugs just like his own dad used to. Instead he hugs him back. Paul gives Louis a playful shove towards his room.

“Get some rest.” He instructs and walks away. Zayn gives Louis a quick side hug and kiss to the forehead before running off to his own room. Louis could definitely get used to this kind of atmosphere. 

-

Louis is awoken a few hours later by a huge bang and then a thump. There are loud voices out in the hall arguing and then another bang. Someone screams and there is more shouting. Louis’ door is opened and someone gets shoved in and the door closes again. Louis, having just woken up, can’t see who was shoved in but they can see him.

“Louis!” It’s Nick. Of course. Nick sits on the edge of Louis’ bed and leans over him to turn on a small lamp. 

“What’s going on out there?” Louis asks groggily, attempting to sit up.

“Oh, just the monthly raid.” Nick says casually but Louis has a feeling that it’s just a cover-up. He can’t see Nick’s face in the dim light that the lamp is giving off, but he can see Nick’s hands, which are fiddling with his trousers. That seems to be a nervous habit. 

“Did someone get shot?” Louis questions reluctantly.

“Yep, that kid Niall. He’ll get carted off to the infirmary as soon as Ruby’s little minions have left.”

“Why’d you get thrown in here?” 

“I tried to punch one of the guys for shooting Niall. I don’t know Niall too well but I know that he’s as innocent as they come. The guy had to pay.” There’s another thump and a few more shouts and another bang. Everything goes silent for a second before someone groans loudly. Louis’ door opens and Paul ushers them out with a bleeding arm.

“Take this one to the infirmary.” He gestures to Niall who is definitely awake with blood staining his dyed hair.

“This one has a name.” Niall chokes out. 

“You should get your arm sorted out Paul.” Louis inspects his arm and determines that he was shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the hand. 

“We don’t have time, Louis, they’ll be back soon enough. Please just take Niall and get him patched up.” Louis sighs, defeated, and pats Paul’s good shoulder before helping Niall off of the ground. Niall throws his arm around Louis’s shoulder and puts all of his weight on Louis. 

“Thanks bro. ‘M names Niall, as you already know, but I felt like I should formally introduce myself.” He says. Niall talks a lot.

“I’m Louis.” Is all he says as he hauls Niall to the infirmary. Louis has only been here once for a minor stab wound. A nurse turns around and shakes her head. 

“Oh no Niall, what’ve we done this time?” Her tone is almost condescending. Almost. 

“Just a few bullet wounds, the usual.” He replies and laughs loudly. Louis remembers that exact same laugh from the day he was brought here. The nurse attaches Niall to a drip which Louis assumes is painkillers. A few minutes later, she tells Niall that she is about to extract the bullets. Niall flails his hand around until he finds Louis’ and takes a tight hold of it. 

“The painkillers don’t work entirely. I still feel her poking around with that bloody scalpel. No pun intended.” He says through gritted teeth and squeezes Louis’ hand tighter. Louis decides that he likes Niall. 

-

Around half an hour later, Louis helps a very drugged up Niall back to his room. He tries asking Niall where his room is but Niall just starts singing  
‘We All Live in a Yellow Submarine’. At some point, Niall tries to start tap dancing and then nearly cries when Louis tells him about the bullet wound.

“Zayn! A little help?” Louis calls when he sees Zayn loitering in the hallway. 

“Louis you and Horan here should be in a contained room, we’re in the middle of a raid.” Zayn says angrily. He’s clearly on edge, Louis thinks. 

“I was just escorting Niall back to his room; I’ll stay with him when I get there.” Louis explains. Niall does the finger gun thing to Zayn with a dopey smile.

“Don’t get killed.” Zayn grumbles. Niall pokes Zayn’s cheek and giggles hysterically for a few minutes.

“Did you get him high?” Zayn questions Louis.

“How dare you accuse me of such things!” Louis exclaims and hoists Niall up in his grasp.

“Did you?” Zayn presses and tries to ignore Niall making grabby hands at a passing man. 

“No, he’s just really drugged up. How would I even obtain weed in hell?” 

“I know a guy.” Zayn says absently, as if he’s thinking.

“Of course you do,” Louis rolls his eyes. “If you don’t mind excusing us, I’m going to take Niall back to his room. Any chance you know where it is?”

“Down the hall, second door on the left.”

“Thanks Zayn.” Just as Louis is dragging Niall to his room, he hears another thump, as if a body fell to the floor. Zayn winces.

“Who was that Zayn?” Louis asks timidly. 

“Hurry up Louis.” Zayn ignores his question. 

“Not before you tell me who they just sent to Limbo.” Limbo was where demons went if they were shot with the right stuff. It’s nearly impossible to get anyone out of Limbo.

“It’s fine Louis, he’ll be fine.” 

“Who just got sent to Limbo?”

“I can get him out, in time.”

“Who the fuck is in Limbo?”

“Okay, I don’t want to stop your angry flow but you both look like fucking angels.” Louis can’t help but smile at Niall who is staring up at him with a cheesy grin. “Also, Paul is on the floor over there and that makes me sad.” Louis nearly collapses. Paul is in Limbo.

 

-


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys meet Harry, find a cure for Paul and meet another main character all in 2,457 words.
> 
> Also, happy birthday to me! Well, yesterday. Nevertheless, I am finally 17. It's been a long wait for this moment. I can finally get a driver's license and drive to McDonalds at 3am if I want to. 
> 
> Enjoy chapter 3 and feel free to leave critique.

 

-

 

The rest of that week revolved around Paul. Zayn was trying to find a way to get him out of Limbo, but so far it was in vain. Louis was one step closer to calling Crowley but no one knew how to work the panel except Zayn and Paul and Zayn refused to let him summon Crowley. While Zayn had been hovering around Paul, Louis had gotten closer to Niall. Niall was a constant source of joy and could often cheer Louis up, no matter what the situation was.

“Oi you fucker, get your dirty boots off of my bed!” Niall shouts at Louis from down the hall. After an influx of newbie’s, Niall had to be vacated. Louis offered his room which had more than enough space.

“This is my room!” Louis shouts back to Niall who is struggling with an armful of food and two beers.

“Yeah but it’s my bed!” Niall pushes the door closed with his food a drops his findings on to Louis’ bed.

“How come you died of alcohol poisoning, yet you still drink alcohol in hell?” Louis asks Niall while picking up a bottle and popping off the lid.

“Right back at you.” Niall takes a swig of his own beer before dropping down next to Louis.

“I died in a car crash induced by alcohol, it wasn’t directly alcohol.” Louis argues and takes a drink. Niall scoffs and the door bursts open. It’s Zayn.

“I found a way to get Paul out of Limbo and I’m going to need the two of you to help.” Zayn’s eyes dart between the two of them, willing them to answer.

“Anything for Paul.” Niall says and stands with Zayn at the door. Louis immediately joins them and the three of them make their way to the infirmary. Paul is getting paler, as if he is literally fading away. Zayn pulls a dusty old book from underneath a chair and opens it up to page he had bookmarked. It was all in some different language, but apparently the nurse could read it.

“I need five ingredients that are mixed together into a soup type thing and then we have to get an angel to perform a ritual on it and then we feed it to Paul. He should come out of Limbo slowly within a month, maybe two. If he doesn’t improve after two months, it’s a lost cause.” Zayn tells them with a hopeful tone to his voice. Louis isn’t so confident in this plan.

“What are the five ingredients?” Niall asks with dread lacing his voice.

“The claw of a hell hound, the blood of a demon, an angel’s feather, a drop of celestial grace and three vampire fangs.”

“Oh, so no big deal; just get ourselves an angel buddy to help us out.” Louis can’t tell if Niall is being sarcastic or not.

“So you need an angel? Who were you planning to ask?” Louis questions with a smirk which succeeds in making Zayn blush. Niall is still oblivious to Zayn’s past romantic escapades.

“I was planning to ask Nick to call his angel boytoy down.”

“Great, let’s do it.” Louis claps his hands together in anticipation.

“I’ll go get Nick.” Niall says and runs out of the room. Zayn traces his fingers over the book and stares at it.

“What if this doesn’t work Louis?” Zayn asks with a hint of fear in his big brown eyes.

“Then it doesn’t work. We will mourn his absence but we will carry on with this revolution because that’s what he would want.” Louis answers simply, but he too dreads what will happen without Paul’s guidance. Zayn nods but Louis can tell that he isn’t convinced by Louis’ surety. Niall returns seconds later with Nick in tow.

“I got him!” Niall excitedly tells them.

“Nick! We really need your help.” Zayn says, setting the ancient book to the side.

“Yeah, Niall briefed me on the way here. Basically, Zayn, I can’t help you. I won’t be meeting up with said angel until next week and as far as I know, there’s no other way to contact him.” Nick says with remorse. Louis sees Zayn’s face fall.

“There’s one way. Do you know his number? It should be six digits.” Zayn is already starting to get out of his seat.

“Well yeah but I don’t know how to call him with it.” Nick admits. Zayn grabs Nick’s sleeve and runs. Louis has a feeling he knows where Zayn is going. Louis hurriedly takes Niall’s hand and pulls him to Louis’ room. Zayn is already there and opening the wall panel. Nick looks like he’s in shock.

“Six digits. Type them in.” Zayn prompts Nick. Nick still seems in a daze but despite that, he types in the six digits and picks up the phone. It is much like a regular phone, except a code has to be typed into it before it could be used. A code that only Zayn and Paul knew.

“Hello?” Nick says into the phone. “Harry, darling, could you maybe zap down to hell for a brief moment, it’s very important.” They wait for Nick’s next answer. “Well yes I do realise that Harry but it really is important and I’m afraid it can’t wait until next week.” There is a flapping sound and Niall shrieks. They all turn around and Nick runs to hug the man who is only slightly smaller than him.

“Thanks for coming Harry.” Nicks says. Zayn looks a bit shocked that it actually worked.

“You do realise that my superiors will have my head if they find out that I came down here. Whatever you need, make it quick.” Harry says but Nick doesn’t seem to take him seriously as he smirks and winks at Harry.

“Right, well I’m Zayn, that’s Niall and that’s Louis. We really need you for something so just follow me.” Zayn says and walks out the door. Harry follows after him. When Louis gets to the infirmary, being at the end of the line, Zayn has already got out the old book. He shows it to Harry and starts explaining everything to him. Louis is staring at Paul who is visibly translucent. Harry glances over at Louis while Zayn is talking and gives him a small smile, which Louis notices and returns. So far, he doesn’t fit Zayn’s description of angels.

“Do you think you could help us with this?” Zayn asks nervously. If Harry says no, they only have one other angel they could call.

“I can help you with the feather and grace but not the ritual. I know someone who can help you with that though, but you won’t need him until the end, right?” Harry says and Zayn nods. There is a flutter of wings, Harry shudders and then produces a long, pure white feather.

“Will this do?” Harry questions and Zayn nods again, seemingly in awe.

“I’ll need to get back to you on the celestial grace, it’s a little more complicated but it shouldn’t take long. You can call me if you really get concerned though.” And with that, there is another flap of wings and Harry’s gone. Zayn takes the feather, which is just over the length of his forearm, and holds it out to Louis.

“Look after this for me? No one ever goes into your room, it’ll be safer there.” Louis takes the feather and runs his finger along the length of it. It’s softer than he imagined it would be. Louis is a little confused as to why no one could see Harry’s wings, but he figures that only angels can see each others wings. They all disperse from the infirmary and go back to their respective rooms, all except Zayn who sits next to Paul’s bed, still tracing over the book with his finger, as if there is something hidden within it’s aged pages. Niall decides that spread-eagling on to his bed is a good idea until it breaks below his weight. He spends the next few minutes laughing, very loudly, while Louis gently toys with the feather. Harry seemed like the stereotypical kind of angel. Kind, willing, humble, angelically handsome. But why would he be friends, or more than friends, with a cocky, ignorant demon? Louis isn’t one to complain though, because Harry is helping them to get Paul back. He’s broken from his thoughts by a loud groan from Niall.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to start fawning over that angel like Grimshaw already is.” Louis is still fiddling with the feather.

“Don’t be ridiculous Niall, angels aren’t anything special.” Louis opens the panel in the wall and sets the feather into the cavity. Louis turns around to see Niall smirking in a creepy manner. Louis doesn’t get why he’s smiling until he turns around and bumps into Harry’s chest.

“Oh Jesus, hi.” Louis blurts out in shock. Harry chuckles.

“I usually go by Harry but Jesus works too.” Niall guffaws from his broken down bed in the corner.

“You’re back already?” Louis asks, having recovered from bumping into Harry.

“Yeah, it took a little longer than I expected.” Harry holds up a small vial of pure white, shining liquid. Louis frowns in confusion.

“You’ve only been gone about ten minutes.” Louis points out, carefully taking the vial from Harry and cradling it in his hands.

“I was planning to be only seven minutes. I know this is a very important spell and by the look of the guy in the infirmary, you don’t have a lot of time.” Harry retrieves the vial from Louis and puts it in his pocket, which seems a little irresponsible to Louis. Harry’s statement is very nearly condescending but Louis knows that Harry doesn’t have the intention to offend anyone.

“Go get the feather Lou, I think we should go find Zayn.” Niall instructs and gets up from his bed. Louis does just that and they all go back to the infirmary, where, as expected, Zayn is sitting next to Paul.

“Harry’s got the grace. Did you get the other three ingredients?”

“I got the vampire fangs which was the hardest. I had to bribe some people.” Zayn replies and pulls out a jar with a rubber stopper in it. It contained three vampire fangs, each looked old and decaying.

“All we need now is demon’s blood and the claw of a hell hound. That’s easy, right?” Zayn grimaces at Niall.

“The demon’s blood has to be the blood of an Original.” Zayn tells them and Louis and Niall groan. Harry looks confused.

“What’s an Original?” He asks almost timidly.

“The original demons, who we are currently at war with.” Zayn explains and Harry nods.

“There is one demon we could call, but I don’t know if he’d appreciate it too much.” Louis says and Zayn immediately shakes his head.

“Crowley doesn’t tend to our petty problems Louis.” Zayn tells him, almost angrily.

“He would if it concerns Paul.” Louis says adamantly. “You’re the only other one who knows his number. It’s our last hope.” Zayn sighs and stands up.

“You had better hope this works. Crowley is a busy man.” Zayn says and stalks off towards Louis’ room. Louis runs after him and hopes that Niall and Harry follow. Zayn is already typing in the six digits by the time Harry and Niall show up. Zayn holds the phone to his ear and soon after, Crowley appears behind them.

“Paul I already told yo-” Crowley looks at the four of them standing there. “What do you four want? I have hell to run and let me tell you, it’s far more complicated than the sham of an operation going on here.” Crowley says harshly, smoothing down his suit with his hands.

“Paul is in Limbo and we need demon blood to get him out.” Zayn says and Crowley laughs bitterly.

“Oh boo hoo. Just use your own blood geniuses.”

“We would, but we need an Original demon’s blood. I thought you knew everything, Crowley.” Louis says spitefully, before Zayn can get to it. Niall elbows Louis sharply as a warning.

“Well I have never had the problem of Limbo because I’m not an amateur like the rest of you lot.” Crowley replies easily.

“Or maybe it’s because you’re all talk and no action.” Louis snaps.

“I would watch what I say if I were you, little pixie. I am the king of hell, after all. I can kill you with a snap of my fingers and not even think twice about it. You’re only a baby demon so learn your place in the hell hierarchy before someone forcefully reminds you.” Crowley steps close to Louis and squints at him. Crowley then pulls a knife out of his pocket and slides it along Louis’ throat. Louis gulps but keeps eye contact with Crowley. He raises the knife and does the unexpected. He stabs himself in the arm with it. Zayn quickly holds out a jar which Crowley holds under his bleeding arm. When the jar is nearly half full, Crowley swipes a hand down his arm and it is healed and hands the jar back to Zayn.

“You’re a feisty one, pixie. You should take a page out of your mates’ book and keep your trap shut.” Crowley takes a step back. “Let this be the last time I help you, boys. Consider it a get out of jail free card.” He disappears.

“What the fuck was that? Were you trying to get us all killed?” Zayn demands and shakes his head.

“Actually I think he liked me.” Louis says sarcastically and Harry stifles a laugh. Zayn shoots him and Harry a glare.

“Risky move Lou.” Niall says. “You got the hell hound claw Zayn?” Zayn nods and leads them all back to the infirmary. He sets all the ingredients out on a table in the corner of the room.

“We’re going to need an angel to do the ritual. You said you knew one?” Zayn directs his question to Harry.

“Yeah, my mate can probably do it. He’s pretty pro at all the angel stuff. I’ll go get him now.” Harry disappears again, leaving Zayn, Niall and Louis to awkwardly await his return. Zayn starts setting up the ingredients and takes another look at the book. He puts the five things in order and then gets a large bowl from a cupboard Louis had never noticed before. There is a flap of wings and Louis turned around to see Harry with his angel friend. A smash resounds throughout the room; Zayn had dropped the bowl he was holding. Zayn stands with a look of shock on his face for a moment. Then he says,

“Long time no see, Liam.” 

 

-


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paul gets the antidote, Zayn is brooding, Harry shows up with a special guest and Louis finds out something he is certain he didn't want to find out.

_“Long time no see, Liam.”_

 

 

-

 

Louis thinks he might implode just from looking at Zayn’s face. Right now, he looks like he wants to cry, punch Liam and run away all at the same time. Louis has never known Zayn to be anything but calm and collected. He looks flustered and conflicted and Louis just wants to give him a hug.

“Hi Zayn.” Liam says sheepishly. Harry looks a bit confused, as does Niall. They both have no idea of Zayn and Liam’s history.

“You know each other?” Harry asks naively. Louis holds his breath for the answer.

“We were friend’s ages ago. Drifted apart.” Liam says timidly. He seems to be uncomfortable. Good, Louis thinks.

“Drifted apart my ass.” Zayn mutters and Louis has to stifle a laugh. Niall looks over with a raised eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.

“Well lets get this over with. The tension is almost unbearable.” Harry says and walks towards the table where Zayn had set up the ingredients. Zayn nods and goes to get another bowl to replace the one he had dropped. The old book is sitting open on the table, Liam is studying it carefully. Zayn begins to drop the ingredients into the bowl in the order they’re listed in.

_The claw of a hell hound,_

_The blood of a demon,_

_An angel’s feather,_

_A drop of celestial grace,_

_Three vampire fangs._

Zayn nods at Liam, the first proper interaction they’ve had in a few years. Liam holds his hands out over the bowl and begins the ritual. He’s saying it in a different language, one that Louis doesn’t recognise. As he’s talking, the ‘brew’ is swirling around and bubbling. Everyone takes a step back. Liam finishes and steps back along with everyone else who seem to be entranced by what’s happening to the soup. It flashes different colours before settling on a murky green. Zayn steps forward and pokes his finger into it. A satisfied smile settles on his face. Louis guesses that they did it right and hugs Niall, who returns it with a loud yell of success. Liam smiles and rubs his hands together. Zayn lifts the bowl and sits next to Paul with it. He starts to pour the soup into Paul’s mouth, who within seconds, is becoming more opaque. Niall cheers again and punches Liam in the shoulder.

“What language was that ritual in?” Niall asks him.

“Enochian. It’s exclusively an angel language. We speak it almost all the time in heaven.” He tells them. Niall nods.

“Then why couldn’t you do the ritual?” Louis asks Harry, whose arm has found residence on Liam’s shoulder.

“I can speak Enochian but I can’t read it. I’m still learning that bit.” He says and smiles at Liam. Liam still looks out of place. Zayn joins them a second later. He stands behind Louis and rests his chin on Louis’ shoulder and slings his arm over the other one. Louis gives him a gentle head butt in comfort and also victory. Paul would be back in a few months. All thanks to Zayn. And Harry. And Liam, maybe.

“Thanks so much for your help guys; we couldn’t have done all this without you.” Niall says, saving Louis and Zayn from doing it. Harry smiles and nods, as does Liam, except Liam keeps his eyes to the floor.

“It was no problem, really. I’m glad we could help. Call us if you ever need anything.” Harry says and gives each of them a hug. Harry disappears with a flap but Liam stays.

“Why are you still here?” Louis asks harshly. Liam takes a step towards Zayn warily.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave after you let me explain.” Liam says to Zayn. Louis is about to intervene but Zayn holds up a hand to stop him.

“Follow me.” Zayn says quietly and they leave the infirmary, probably to go to Zayn’s room.

“Okay, what the fuck was that?” Niall asks Louis with an extremely confused look.

“Zayn and Liam used to have a thing. One day, on a day they were going to make it official, Liam didn’t show up and Zayn nearly got sent to the cage, he was cutting it that close. For the next few weeks, Zayn waited at the same place but Liam never showed. So now I guess Liam is explaining why he didn’t show up on that day or any other day after that.” Louis tells Niall, who seems to be in a state of shock. The nurse finally enters the room and sits down at her desk.

“Paul’s looking better.” She comments while writing something down on a notebook.

“Yeah, we think the ritual worked.” Niall says and the door opens. Zayn walks back in and wordlessly resumes his place next to Paul’s bed. Louis raises his eyebrows at Zayn who shakes his head with a disgruntled look. Niall gives Louis puppy eyes as if he is pleading Louis to pry and find out what happened. Louis shakes his head at him.

“Let’s leave Zayn here.” He whispers to Niall who nods and walks over to Zayn to give him a hug in his seat. Louis does the same, except he kisses Zayn’s forehead.

“We’ll be in our room if you feel like you want to tell us what happened. I filled Niall in, by the way.” Louis says quietly and Zayn nods, with tears in his eyes. Louis decides that he hates Liam. When Louis reaches his room he sees Niall curled up on his own broken bed. Louis sits next to him and plays with Niall’s hair.

“This is such a shitty place. I just want to be with my family and my nephew and go and get drunk in a random pub with my mates without worrying about whether I’ll get shot or not.” Niall says into Louis’ leg. Louis just continues to run his hand through Niall’s hair in what he hopes is a comforting manner.

 

-

 

It has been a month and Paul has still not woken up. Although, Zayn thinks it'll be any time soon. He spends all of his time in the infirmary. Zayn, who is Paul’s second in command, hasn’t been taking on the role of leader. So now it’s up to Louis and Niall. Apparently there was no one in the entire building who wanted to be the boss. Louis has a newfound respect for Paul after taking on his responsibilities for a month. There is a lot that goes into being the boss. Making sure the house is properly protected, fighting off Originals or Ruby’s minions, making sure that the newbies are recruited properly and so much more. Nick had popped in a few times to help briefly but then he disappeared after a week of being their assistant. They were swimming in responsibility and Louis felt like he was close to drowning in it. It is a nice day when Harry appears out of the blue. The town that is usually filled with darkness is slightly lighter, making it feel a little less evil. Louis was working on a battle plan, of sorts, when Harry appears in his ‘office’, looking flustered and holding a child who looks to be about four years old. Harry sets her down in front of Louis’ desk.

“Can you look after her? Please?” He asks. The little girl is staring up at Louis inquisitively.

“There’s a small civil war going on in heaven and it really isn’t safe for her there.” He explains and sets Louis with an imploring look.

“Well hell isn’t exactly cupcakes and roses either. I can look after her but I can’t guarantee her safety.” Louis says and the little girl decides to climb on to Niall’s chair across the room.

“Thank you, she won’t be a bother. She’s an absolute angel.” Harry says and winks at Louis. Louis groans and hits his head on the desk jokingly.

“Lux, sweetheart, I’m leaving you with Louis for a little while. Do everything he says, and I’ll be back soon.” Harry kisses her forehead and disappears. Lux looks at Louis for a solid minute.

“Are you a nice demon?” She asks in a shaky voice. Louis can see tears glistening in her eyes.

“Yeah I am. I’m friends with Harry.” Louis tells her and she nods her head.

“Li says that some demons are really, really nice.” She smiles at Louis, almost in a reassuring way. Louis has a feeling he knows which demon Liam was talking about. Just at that moment, Niall walks into the room and stops when he lays eyes on Lux.

“Um. What?” He looks from Louis to Lux in confusion. Lux jumps off of Niall’s chair and runs to hide under Louis’ desk.

“This is Lux. Harry’s…small child friend. Lux, this is Niall.” Niall nods and gets on his belly to look at Lux from the gap under Louis’ desk.

“Hi Lux. What’re you doing here?” Niall asks the little girl who has backed up against Louis’ legs.

“Are you a nice demon?” She repeats the question she asked Louis. Niall lets out a loud laugh.

“Yep. I’m the nicest of them all.” He tells her and she giggles. The same type of giggle Louis heard from his multitude of little sisters. This is going to be a fun babysitting adventure, he thinks. Lux crawls out from under the table and sits in front of Niall. Niall reaches on to Louis’ desk and grabs a few sheets of paper and some coloured pencils.

“You like to draw?” He asks her and she nods erratically. He sets the paper and pencils in front of her and she gets to work. Niall pulls his chair over to beside Louis and sits down on it.

“So why did Harry drop her off in hell?” Niall asks quietly so as not to alert Lux.

“Apparently there’s a small civil war going on in heaven and this is the only place he knew of to take her to.” Louis tells him and he scoffs.

“You reminded him that this is hell, right?” Louis chuckles and nods.

“It’s safer than heaven, he said.” Niall looks down to Lux who is currently drawing a woman with white hair and high heels.

“Have you checked in on Paul recently?” Niall asks Louis, still staring at Lux’s drawing.

“Yeah, yesterday. He looks a lot better. Zayn is optimistic, for once. Speaking of Zayn, has he mentioned anything on the subject of Liam?”

“Nope. He’s still bottling that up.” Niall replies. Louis looks back to Lux who has now moved on to drawing a man with blonde hair and tattoo covered arms. Next, she draws a man with plenty of curly hair and tattoos and a shirt that is only half buttoned. She draws two birds on his collar bones and gives them eyebrows.

“Birds don’t have eyebrows, silly.” Niall says to Lux in a playful voice. He gets down on her level again to sit in front of her.

“That’s what I said to Haz when daddy drew them on him. But he said that the littler bird is his soul-something.” She says, continuing to colour in Harry’s shirt.

“The smaller bird represents his future soul mate?” Niall questions and she grins at him and nods. Louis rolls his eyes. He doesn’t know Harry very well, but from what he does know, that sounds very typical of him. The door opens and it’s the same blonde boy from Louis’ first day in hell.

“Louis, there’s a guy looking for you downstairs. He’s kind of injured.” Louis’ heart drops to his stomach and his throat feels dry. He jumps up and follows the guy, whose name he hasn’t learned yet, to the first floor. Harry is standing in the middle of the hallway, swaying on his feet and drenched in blood. His wings are visible for once. Each wing is around six feet in length and a metre and a half in length. They are snow white, which was expected, but are blood stained which gives them an air of poetic beauty. Harry takes a step forward towards Louis and wobbles a little on his feet. Louis practically runs forward to catch him before he falls and damages himself further.

“Is Lux okay?” He asks weakly into Louis’ shoulder. Louis takes Harry’s arm and puts it around Louis’ shoulders. He then loops his arm around Harry’s waist, guiding him towards the stairs.

“She is doing fine. She’s drawing with Niall right now.” Harry sighs and leans properly on to Louis. Louis has a feeling that Harry won’t be contributing to conversation in his injured state.

“She told us about your bird tattoos.” He looks over at Harry’s collarbones which do indeed have birds inked into them. Harry hums in acknowledgement. Louis can tell that he is getting weaker. Who put the infirmary on the third floor anyway? They had tackled the first flight of stairs and are starting on the second when Nick rushes over.

“Harry?” He asks in a panicked voice. Harry makes a small noise but Louis can’t distinguish whether Nick is welcome or not. “Let me help.” Nick says and loops his arm around Harry’s waist with Harry’s arm around his shoulders. Harry grunts and lets some pressure off of Louis. When they finally get to the third floor, Harry is nearly passed out.

“Nurse, we have an injured angel here.” Louis says, and with help from Nick, he sets him on to a bed and arranges his wings so that they aren’t sitting weirdly or in the nurses’ way. She glances over briefly to make sure they aren’t injuring him more than he already is.

“Yeah I couldn’t tell that from his wings Louis.” The nurse says. She turns around to look at Harry properly and gasps loudly. Louis isn't too sure why. He doesn't look as bad as most of the demons that get sent to the infirmary. Recovering from her shock, she gets to work on stripping Harry of his sticky, red clothes. She attaches a drip of painkillers to Harry’s arm and tries to locate his injuries. Nick leaves shortly after, claiming he is squeamish and doesn’t want to see his friend in pain. Louis has forgotten about Zayn, sitting quietly in the corner. He is staring at Harry with a pained expression. There’s a small noise from Harry, who can probably feel the nurse stitching up his arm. He finds Louis’ arm and grabs it.

“You okay Haz?” The nickname comes out without Louis even realising. Lux had said it a few times so it was stuck in Louis’ head. Zayn laughs from the other side of the room.

“Hate stitches.” He mutters, gripping Louis’ arm harder. Louis throws an unused blood bag at Zayn who is still giggling in the corner.

 

-

 

An hour later, when the nurse had finished stitching him up, Harry was on a medication high similar to Niall’s.

“Liam says you have a pretty face. And Liam should know because he says he likes my hair when everyone says I should cut it.” Harry tells Zayn. Light pink dusts his cheeks and a bashful smile crosses his face.

“I don’t think you should cut your hair either, Harry.” Zayn reassures him. Harry pats Zayn’s face twice in thanks.

“When does this wear off?” Louis quietly asks the nurse, who is smiling fondly at Harry.

“In half an hour.” She tells him. Harry starts to sing ‘We Are the Champions’ by Queen. His voice is shaky and a little gravely but quite good nonetheless. The nurse chuckles softly and starts to fill out some type of form.

“I died in a car crash, Zayn.” Harry says. He has taken to petting Zayn’s shaved head, claiming that it feels like a soft hedgehog.

“So did Louis.” Zayn tells him and Harry squeals happily, in a pitch that Louis wasn’t aware grown men could reach.

“We’re blood brothers Louis!” Harry cheers and holds out his fist for Louis to bump. Louis laughs and completes the gesture by tapping Harry’s closed fist with his own.

“I was taking Lux home from the hospital because her mum, Lou- oh my God you and Lou nearly have the same name! That’s so weird that I know two Lou’s! Anyway, Lou had just had a baby and Lux was tired so I was taking her home at around five in the morning. Then, some maniac came swerving down the road, probably drunk.” Louis feels extremely sick at this moment. He locates a bucket under Harry’s bed, just in case. “I tried to get out of the way but he was in the middle of the road. Then we crashed, like, head-on. What a jerk! Right Zayn?” Zayn nods and pats Harry head consolingly.

“You didn’t happen to be around Doncaster, did you?” Louis asks, dreading Harry’s reply.

“Yeah we were! How’d you know?” Louis promptly throws up in the bucket.

 

-


End file.
